Monsanto sued over GM wheat, other suits likely to follow

This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation.

The following is an excerpt.

Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, may face more complaints from farmers even as tests so far haven’t shown unapproved gene-altered wheat anywhere beyond an Oregon farm where it was found.

The company was sued in federal court in Wichita by a Kansas farmer who accused it of negligently releasing genetically altered wheat seed in the U.S. and damaging the market for his crop. The lawsuit filed June 3 by Ernest Barnes of Morton County, Kansas, may be the first of many against St. Louis-based Monsanto alleging contamination, his lawyers said in a statement.

“Monsanto has failed our nation’s wheat farmers,” Stephen Sussman, a lawyer for Barnes with Houston-based Sussman Godfrey LLP, said in the statement. “Monsanto knew of the risks its genetically altered wheat posed and failed to protect farmers and their crops from those risks.”

It is easier than ever for advocacy groups to spread disinformation on pressing science issues, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. No, vaccines are not harmful. Yes, the use of biotechnology, GMOs or gene editing to develop antigens for treatments including vaccines are part of the solution. To inform the public about what’s really going on, we present the facts and challenge those who don't. We can’t do this work without your help. Please support us – a donation of as little as $10 a month helps support our vital myth-busting efforts.